Oleanders
by Riviea
Summary: The hunt for a specific house leads two shamans to the Funbari District,and to the discovery of a much deeper web of sorcery that neither of them wants to handle.Why should they even bother to deal with it anyway, not like it's their problem... Right?
1. Chapter 1

Serene. 

That was perhaps the only word which could describe the neighbourhood at this time, when the sun was just beginning to rise.At the (uncivilized and insane) hour of 6am, majority of the students ought to have gone to school, but since the Break was still on, none of them were the least bit interested in waking up. Or waking someone up as a matter of fact.

Except of course for the occupants at the Flame Inn.

Already, the infamous blonde, Kyoyama Anna was long awake, dressed with the characteristic black dress, blue itako beads and of course, that vivid red bandana. At age 15, her features were still sharp and defined, the same way they were 2 years ago, the coldness of her personality was still there of course. No one could possibly forget how mean she acted, nor how sweet she can really be when she wanted to be nice... which was so rare it could probably be the human's equivalent to a solarstorm or something similar.

But, back to the story at hand.

Without hesitation, she twisted the doorknob, and entered the room. All light was denied from the room when the door was closed, she could tell, but she could change all that, and she sure was about to. Flinging open the tightly shut windows, she yanked the drapes apart, allowing the little light to stream in steadily.

A sharp hiss was heard behind her, and covers were jerked roughly above the head as though to defend themselves from the light, keeping the darkness retained. Immediately, Anna flared, hands automatically re-positioning themselves from the window to either hip, "Yoh, Hao!"

Immediately, the elder of the two was up, scrambling from his bed which was situated to the right of the room. In no mood to test his future sister-in-law's patience, which he knew from the previous years of experience, was not very long lasting. The younger however, only groaned something garbled and inaudible as he sunk deeper into his covers and pillows, ignoring everything from his side of the room - the left. Without asking, everyone knew what it meant: "5 more minutes, Anna.."

As always, Anna could have always asked..no, scratch that,_ commanded_ Hao to wake his younger brother, but she had her pride. No one, repeat, no one - in the right mind, of course - would dare disobey Kyoyama Anna unless the were attempting a show of bravado, were obviously _not_ thinking straight or simply had a death-wish. Ripping off his blanket, ignoring his whimper as she did so, she seized her fiancé's shirt collar and proceeded to give him a good shake, ignoring his whimpering cries of 'I don't want to get up' and '5 more minutes'.

"Wake up, _now_," the tone held no room for any protests, and almost reluctantly, he opened his brown eyes, squinting as they adjusted to the light finally, as they focused clearly on the sharp thin face of his future spouse, a lazy grin flitted across his face.

"Ohayo, Anna," he greeted, almost cheerfully. Hao was eternally exasperated with the pure immaturity of his younger twin. He never seemed to 'grow up' or learn anything in his life that could help him evade trouble. It was a wonder he even managed to keep his nose clean all this while.

"Get dressed, both of you, the usual regime with an _additional_ 20 push -ups since it took you forever to get up, and get the groceries while you're at it," the instructing voice was crisp and stern, leaving a long-lasting impression.Yoh had to bite back a groan as, even in his half-awake state, he knew better than to bargain with his future spouse - someone whom he had a great affection _and_ respect for.

"Get on with it, you heard her," Hao added, after she left them to change out of their night-wear, closing the door with a sharp 'click' of finality. Yoh only mumbled something, and then, flopped back down to his tangle of warm blankets, eyes closing rapidly as he mumbled out those accursed words once again:

"Another 5 minutes, aniki..."

It took Hao a full 5 minutes to finally get Yoh properly awake (by kicking him straight off of his bed when he realized that verbal persuasion just did not work) and finally, after a few minutes, dragged his sibling to the kitchen for breakfast and finally,Yoh was awake (the prospect of food seemed to refresh him,_ especially_ if there were oranges) they went out to train.

* * *

"I'm telling you, we are going to wrong way," said she, folding her arms across her chest which remained hidden under the dark red-brown cloak that hung down to her ankles, hiding her clothes. Light auburn hair framed the girl's sharp oval face and expressive blue eyes, the former of which was hidden and the latter shaded from the glare of the sun. 

"That can't be it, we've double-checked the map and we are following directions as written. Everyone we asked directed us to this direction..." replied the other, scratching her head a little as she studied the map once again, head tilting as her bright yellow or, more accurately, gold eyes which were only a fraction different from a feline's, blinked with confusion.

She was not wearing a cloak as her friend was, but her long black hair,unlike her friend's, was tied back loosely with a simple purple bow whose colour matched her top.

"Directed. You just said it, directed. You realize how vague it sounds?" as she spoke, her feet were still continuously walking, closely followed by her companion who paused every once in a while to stare closely at the unfurled map she held in her hands.

"Whatever, anyway, how did you know this is the Funbari district? It isn't written anywhere on the map..."

"Road signs! Xenia, as always, you are downright concentrating too much on the map and directions!" The girl threw her hands into the air, drawing the front of her cloak open as she did so, revealing her long pale arms and her attire; a white buttoned shirt that was tucked loosely into a honey-coloured skirt with wide loose pleats all around.

A sweatdrop slid down the side of the named girl's slightly-tanned face, as she knitted her dark eyebrows together,"Ahh, that complicates matters... Oh! Right! Osiris could help, Xephy can come along too!" Xenia grinned as she waved the map happily.

Breathing out a long breath to vent her exasperation as she lowered her arms back to her sides, the cloaked girl gave Xenia a long look, her features (which were a world apart from the other girl's distinct Asian ones with the characteristically tilted almond-shaped eyes) arranged in a look of utter exasperation."Don't act as if you have forgotten what LiYing-San told us," there was pause as she adjusted one corner of the hood, a thin silver wire bracelet around her wrist flashing in the light,"Need I continue? And again, the name is supposed to be _Xepherus_, not Xephy."

Xenia laughed as she held up her right arm and angled her own identical wrist ornament to the light."I'd never forget my own mother's instructions Reisa, I was kidding. Sorta', kinda', maybe nota' all. And I_ know_ that he's Xehperus, Xephy is just so _much_ better a name!"

"Xenia, you do know that you speak like you don't think, _at all_. Amazing for a student capable of jumping grades and still excelling..Come to think of it, have your parents settled your schooling matters while you're in Tokyo?" Typical Reisa behavior, school school school. You'd think this whole world revolves around excelling in Academics rather than the sun.

"'Course. They've never let me skip school ever since I scored straight 'A's... gah, 'tis so irritating to manage without being able to ask the Locals, Mother's masking charm sure masks out everything, even my contact with Osiris is cut off, feels kind of weird," her words were disjointed, for she was concentrating on her map-reading, turning the map 360 degrees and studying it,"Nope, we didn't read it upside-down."

"Didn't we just settle that matter a few _hours _ago? Why does your family's house have to be in such a..remote region?" Reisa asked matter-of-factly as she meddled around with the many twists in the metal of her charm.

"It isn't remote, compared to your house, which is like so... so... _cliché_! It's dark, it's a mansion with a black roof, situated in one of the most civilised but remotest areas, and when there's a full moon, it's like one of those houses people in the Vampiric novels live in.You know, like _Dracula_!" Xenia's bright feline eyes flashed with the usual light of cheery joy, one that made it hard to believe that the owner was actually very serious in what she did, regardless of her actions, or the way she spoke.

"No it doesn't, you've just read to many horror stories. Let's just concentrate on our hunt. We'd be in major trouble if we can't find that house. LiYing-San has a definite flair for the dramatics," Reisa muttered the last sentence with a kind of monotone like one who was addressing a close friend who one could not help but like and feel exasperation at.

"Ha, mother and her princess-cy behavior's awesome! Handkerchiefs for the knights..." Xenia shook her raven-haired head as she laughed, shaking out the folds in the map, before she furled it back up again and tucked it into a random pocket in her shorts."I think I've got it, straight down, left turn, then turn in right at the third driveway. Yay for me and my map!"

"Actually, you still need to turn left one more time after that, your map said so."

"Right you are, Reisa-chan! Glad that you've better sense than me!"

"... Cut out the chan, it makes me feel old."

"You mean to say you aren't?"

"... I am _NOT _going to answer that."

* * *

"Say Reisa, doesn't that guy look just like WenXia?" 

"You mean that twerp who happens to be your younger brother? No. Your younger brother has a weird hairstyle of long black hair at the front and short black hair at the back. And, his eyes are orange like your mother's and your sister's. Not to mention how he's much shorter-Or do you mean his aura?"

"Ahh, welcome to My World Reisa, that was exactly what I was pointing at. Such a pity these little trinkets mask off everything with a wobbly barrier into this confined little world of our's. I'd say we need to be two inches away before we can even sense his element." Xenia sighed, as she tucked a loose strand of her shiny black hair behind her ear.

"Fine, you and your math. The directions again?"

"Uhm...A left turn, a right turn after...crap, after a number of driveways. Darn why in the world did I forget to trace out the route again?"

"By the time we reach there, I think we'll be eighty years old. Forget the map, let's go by directions. Pen; over, and follow me," Reisa snitched the fountain pen from Xenia's fingers, and spun on her heel. Xenia stashed the map into her pocket, and set off after her immediately, her ribboned plait bouncing behind her as if it were alive.

"Summimasen ga!" Xenia was the first to react, as always since she liked..no, loved being first, the two paused, halting in their conversation (or maybe it was an argument or something else), and turning to focus on both of them.

Reisa who had stopped walking towards the since they were already a reasonable distance apart, had to grab hold of Xenia's hand and jerk her back as the Chinese kept on walking, as though she really meant to stand just two inches away so that she could properly gauge both's elements or something similar."We just wanted to ask, if you knew-" Xenia felt around in her pocket for a moment, before she yanked out the map and held out the side on which the address was written to them,"-where this place is suppose to be?"

* * *

Yoh and Hao both gave each other a long look, blinking as they tried to comprehend the situation .The Funbari District was not really a tourist hotspot, though there was the occasional foreigner. But, they were different in a way that they did not dress like the usual tourist, and that they or rather, _she_ since the other had yet to speak, were pretty much fluent in the local language. 

Both the brothers studied the directions written out in the spidery font that was a little hard to read, and shared another look between themselves, before they made a silent pact to help each other if either was punished for this little 'skive'.

"Turn right down the third drive and then-" Yoh began, just as the more Asian looking girl of the two cut in.

"How about you bring us there instead, please?" the girl with the hood frowned a little, or at least seemed to since the hood was shading part of her face,"unless 'course Reisa has anything to say about it?" the named girl shook her head as she folded her arms, the action barely visible since it was hidden under her cloak.

"Alright," Yoh agreed for his brother and himself, though his eyebrows were slightly knitted as he studied the hooded one of the two whose name seemed to be Reisa,"Mysterious friend you've got there," he said, casually as he turned, setting off purposefully.

Hao knitted his eyebrows even closer together as his eyes warned Yoh of the impending 'danger' they faced from the blonde who was probably watching TV at home that very moment. Yoh simply shrugged it off, and Hao did not bother to remind him another time, as he studied both of the girls with something akin to mistrust and pure dislike.

_Humans..._

* * *

Xenia laughed, "Nah, she's just quiet, now, could you please take the lead?" Grinning cheerily, Xenia clasped both hands behind her back,"Thank you...uh.. both of you. By the way, my name is Xenia! She's Reisa!" she added as she quickly moved to follow the twins, just as her friend followed with the sedated pace she was used to. 

"Right, my name's Yoh, he's Hao. And you're very welcome."

"I had no idea your names are all single-worded like the Chinese!"

Reisa rolled her sky-blue eyes, which were shaded from the bright light of the sun, before she reached up with one hand to tug the hood down lower till the shadow reached her high cheekbones - so that her pale skin did not burn - unaware of the apparently curious gaze set on her as she did so.

_This sounds like a long boring conversation..._ she mused sadly, just as a silent whisper of a voice complained to her in muted tones in her head, making her smile almost ruefully, _Once again, sorry Xepherus._

* * *

So, I'm back again, with a new fic and a new beginning, this time with the plot properly scripted out, and (I hope) no more loopholes.But, there's a drawback since I've started my high school life which is much more taxing than expected so my updates will probably come pretty slow, and I can't promise that everything will be this long.Sorry to all of you who are eager to read the next chapter, but I don't have that much time anymore to log on and write chapters every single day. 

Thanks for reading! Please review and critique, constructive comments are love.

Ja mina-san! -Riviea


	2. Chapter 2

"...Wait a second, you live here?!" Yoh stared at the gates with utter disbelief, his jaw falling open and eyes widening as all four of them stood in the shade of the huge terrace whose gates the directions had led them to,"This house has been abandoned for years!" 

"Oh..Really? I'm had no clue...and am not quite sure.." Xenia said as she rummaged about in here pockets, drawing out a long thin key of silver, which she inserted in the padlock bolting the ornate gates.They were tall and grand, towering over them all, casting sombre shadows on the road as the sun shone on their ornate carvings and intricate designs.

The lock clicked, accepting the authencity of the key as it swung silently open, in an eerie greeting of welcome.Reisa looked up, tilting her hooded face up to the gates as they parted to let them pass, as solemnly as two sentinels.It all felt wrong somehow, and it was making the back of her neck prickle uncomfortably.LiYing had warned them about that, the eerieness of the house.

* * *

Why had she been so insistent that they came anyway? LiYing had not explained, but she made them come anyway, since both of them trusted her very much, enough to the extent that they would be willing to go out to search for some secluded and 'abandoned' house in a foreign region.She would not betray their trust to lead them to danger... Which mother would send her own child (which in this case meant Xenia since Reisa was un-related to either of them other than by friendship) to imminent danger?

* * *

Pulling the hood down further, Reisa glanced about silently, cold azure-blue eyes darting about with slight curiousity and un-veiled caution.Before she took the cue to move forward, leaving everyone else behind as she wandered past the gates which seemed to regard her with a stern eye of caution as they 'admitted' her. 

Xenia however only smiled as she eased the key from the padlock and pocketted it safely, and went past the iron sentinels, "Please come in," she smiled, inclining her head at the brothers who stared at each other and checked the watches before accpeting the invitation and stepped in. Yoh, hesistantly and Hao warily, but both of them went past the gates, which silently shut behind them, the padlock snapping shut without any visible means, making all three of them jump with surprise, and spin around to stare at the gates and also the padlock, which had just returned to its original state - how it had been when they first saw it.Albeit the fact that they were now in the compound, and seemingly trapped.

"How charming," Xenia grinned at both brothers, no trace of uncertainty showing in her voice, though inside, there was a stab of fear and a stronger feel of curiousity,"Let's just go catch up with Reisa." She grin faded to a mere smile as she turned, hair swinging as she bounded off, leaving both brothers there, with uncomprehension and slight doubt prominent on their faces.

How very Xenia, only someone as plucky and enthusiastically optimistic would call a gate that has just succeeded in trapping them inside 'charming'.Hao snorted at the irony and the utter idiocy of Xenia's statement as he set after her, followed by Yoh, with a slightly uneasy smile set on his face.The plain look on his face showed only one statement: It's all going to be alright... right?

* * *

The door that lay ahead of the gate simply swung open to admit her once Reisa laid a pale hand on the glassy jet-black door-knocker, wanting to properly study the small details laid into the cold raven-black glass.But she was given no chance of that as the Knocker slipped from her fingers as it was pulled backwards, and the whole pane of thick richly-coloured mahagony wood swung inwards to admit her. 

Eerie, though not uncommon. Reisa's own family charmed all their door's brass knockers and knobs to admit people who were related or properly accquainted to them upon contact.It was a fairly simple system, which simply requires the person to familiarise his or her furyoku to the specially-altered knocker or knob, so that upon the next arrival or departure, the knob would recgonise the unique traces and admit the personnel.

But of course the people needed the Current Master of the House's (her father in this case) permission to do so since all of these similar systems worked upon command and would fail to familiarise if not commanded to do so.So the entry of the house was very much restricted to only the closest of relations most of which were shamans, or the most trusted accquiantances(of which there were not many), like Xenia.

Otherwise, they would have to rely on others to open the doors to admit them. And since Reisa's family were such a bunch of the shaman's equivalent of racists, not many humans were allowed in alive.Unless of course, it was one of the servants in their manor, all of which is a different matter since they never went outside, to serve them was a life-long contract, they lived there, toiled there and were not permitted to have contact with anyone outside.all contact with family was to be terminated upon agreement and approval from the master.

The punishment for disobedience and non-compliance was the usual one doled out to any sort of crime that went against all that was clearly stated: Death. _Oh yes,_ Reisa mused mirthlessly, _my family is a macabre bunch, and a definite stickler for following rules._

* * *

The magic was a gentle sense of warmth to her fingers, giving off a minute amount of heat to her fingers as the magic was activated the split-second she laid her hand there.For the short blink of an eye her hand had remained on the obsidian knocker, Reisa briefly read the silent message of familiarity. 

There was a catch of uncertainty in there as she reviewed the message mentally, standing at the door with her eyes watching the door-knocker without really seeing it.For one thing, as far as she rememebered, she had never come across this house, much less say to have familiarised her own unique signature with it.And the second thing was that this familiarisation was sort of a 'second-hand' type of knowledge, for vaguely, the message transmitted said 'Reisa, friend of Xenia' rather than just 'Reisa' as she had expected it to.It was rare to have a second-hand familiarisation in this sort of thing afterall, these things were altered to recgonise the person 'face to face' so to speak, not to remember someone because they were related or accquainted to someone.

Unless-

"Awesome! Reisa you've opened the door without the key and even found the light-switch!" Xenia's happy tone rang out from behind her, and it was only then that Reisa actually realised she had been standing there frozen at the door for quite some time.

"The door doesn't need a key, none of these doors will," she said blankly, and not offering an explaination as though she was distracted.And she was, as her eyes took a proper look at the inside of the house for the first time.Grander than expected or perceived from the outside, the inside of the house was nothing short of shocking well at least for that one moment when they first saw it, for the surprise faded away quickly.

In contrast to the forbidding and slightly un-lived look of dark navy-blue tiled roofs and cleanly white washed walls on the outer perimeter, the house was lit with a brightly with a warm orange-y light with a crystal chandelier which was something very uncommon.The delicate wires of silver that encased the crystal glimmered coldly at them as they stood there and viewed it.Like the rest of the house, it seemed to have a life of its own, regarding them sternly as would a sentinel.Thankfully though, the stern eye seemed to stop there, for the rest of the furniture was of warm tones, like peach (The carpet), White (the walls) and also, very surprisingly and enchanting, Dark blue and silver constellations (The ceiling).

The furniture consisted of blacks and browns, and also the cold silver grey of aluminium, from the chairs, to the couches, to the coffee table(with the rather precarious glass top that glimmered with polish) and even the black iron banister and the two pedestals which flanked the wooden stairs which spiraled up in a loose angular half-circle to the next storey.

Xenia's eyes widened as she took in the grand sight of the living room with awe, this was a sign of pure craftsmanship, none like she had ever seen before, save for Reisa's own home which was a different matter altogether.This was a mark of pure splendour, and might have taken years to build, she did not know, but being an arts student, she could properly admire the ornate intricacy of everything, the gracefullness and stern rigidity of every piece of art in the living room.

* * *

The walls in the second storey were painted cream, and the floor was carpeted in peach.A rather flattering suiting combinatin of colours, that was similarly lit by the chandelier at the landing, which was an reasonable anout space of about a few feet that was banistered at the left side, where there was another flight of stairs. 

She turned to the right, where there was a corridor leading down a short distance, before turning in two directions, splitting into two ways.Without hesitation, she turned, walking straight down the corridor, randomly stopping at one and entered it, without even twisting the knob.

With the door still open, she lowered the hood, revealing her long brown hair with its slightly wavy ripples that spanned down its length.Flipping back her cloak, she reached to the back of her waist, undoing a belt which she then set on the table, together with the two sheaths that were bound to it, the diamond-stencilled handles were gleaming with the care spent on it.

She raised both hands to her neck, fingers working at undoing the clasp set in her cloak which held them close.Removing the cloak, which she draped over her arm, she knitted her eyebrows as she studied the bracelet at her wrist, before she eased it off.The moment it left her fingers however, the sound of a short rattling hiss from outside caught her attention.Turning, with the bracelet still held in her hands, frozen in mid-action.Eyes narrowing, she curled her fingers around the bracelet, clenching it tightly with suspicion as she slowly went towards the open door.

As if on cue, her spirit materialised beside her, his strange greek apparell billowing gently without any signs of wind, his mid-back length of lavender hair was flowing down freely, floating without apparent support together with his clothes.Reisa barely spared him a glance, despite the finely-chinselled features and the sense of grace and beauty set on the mildly tanned face._Xepherus, Greek god of the West Wind_, Reisa mused, _the heart-broken lover of Hyacinth who till now he mourns for.How cliché._ As if hearing her thoughts, he promptly vanished again, with a sniff.

She would have felt safer with her loyal guardian beside her, as she stepped out of the room, quite forgetting that she had left both her weapons, which was also her over-soul medium, behind, but she had to make do without she supposed.She could hear the racket Xenia was making downstairs, as she ran to examine everything (A nagging sixth-sense hypothesis), but up here where she was, there was a strangely eerie silence that lingered despite the noise downstairs.There it went again, the strange hissing sound that made Reisa think about those dementors in one of those books she had read.Barry Trot-No, it was _Harry Potter_.

Following the noises, it lead her to the bath-house, situated right at the corner of the end of the left corridor.She knitted her fine eyebrows together as she pushed open the door and enterred, the rattling sound getting louder as she supposedly neared its source.The bathroom was themed brown and white, and the clean whiteness of the porcelain and tiled walls made Reisa feel appallingly grimy in comparison.

"The shower..?" she murmured as she gently pulled back the shower curtain, to stare at the bright shiny metal shower.Remembering the bracelet, she hesitated before she slipped it back on, just in case she lost it.As she looked back up at the steel shower once more, her eyes widened as-

From downstairs, all three heads shot up from what they were doing, a loud scream having punctuated their thoughts, interrupting them.Immeidately, Xenia sprang for the stairs.

"Reisa!"

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

She could not believe this. Once again, instinct had taken over better thinking, and she had screamed.

_Screamed! _And over something as trival as a lunatic shower.Although it had surprised her.

Damn _everything_, including that lavender-haired Greek who happened to be her spirit, she wanted to kill him for the amused smile on his face.Just because she was a victim of a crazy shower does _not_ give him a good excuse to laugh at her.She had yet to laugh at him for being jealous enough to 'accidently' kill his own lover, Hyacinth, not to mention how he had been rejected by the boy for the God of music instead(1).

But, she was not excately sure if he was smiling in amusement or exasperation since that bracelet on her wrist was starting to work its charm, and the apparition that was Xepherus was blurring as her powers were slowly locked in to keep them from being found by anyone else like her, so she reasoned, that was good enough a reason or him to plead mercy with.Anyway, he was her spirit and she did not want to lose him.

He was a god-class afterall.Killing him would make all her exhaustive training she was put through go to waste.

_Go, quick before anyone comes running!_ she thought silently to him, knowing he got the message for he simply vanished, and it was not because of the masking charm since the vanish was a clean one, and not a gradual fading.

Flinging her cloak back around her shoulders and fastening it at her neck, she hearing the patter of feet against wood as somene came running up the stairs, she pushed the bracelet further up her wrist, and turned to the door.Without a another thought, she had stepped out of the bathroom, and gone out to meet the person at the corridor.

* * *

Xenia, for all her life, had never ever seen a situation like this.Halting as suddenly as she had started running, she stared at Reisa, who was now drippping wet for some reason, with some signs of hidden amusement at the teenager.She did not look anymore angry than irritated. 

"You were screaming cause you happened to _forget_ to remove your clothing halfway through your bath?" Xenia's lip twitched, dangerously close to breaking into a smile.

"No...Who in the world's bathing? I'll explain later, but for now, I think I'll prefer to go downstairs and sort out everything, help me get my record book and don't forget the pencil!" Reisa said, as she dusted her shoulders, her bracelet pf twisted silver chinking merrily upon impact with her cloak's silver clasp - a bunch of twisting inter-twining vines in the shape of the alphabet 'V' - with an unseeming sapphire set in it, before she set off past Xenia, down the stairs.

"Um...Well..." Xenia stood there, partly-frozen as she turned around, one hand raised with an expression of meaning to tell her something, but was cut off and unsure whether or not to continue, but she did, in a soft voice,"Did you forget you were wearing a white shirt or something...?"

Then a giggling laugh. Xenia's head snapped back as she heard it, eyes widening with surprise as she turned around fully, slowly.The look turning to pure suspicion as something like realisation crept across her face.

Taking a leap towards the computer, she pulled out the first notebook, and pencil she saw, before she scribbled a message and tore it out, tucking it into a pocket as she walked calmly to the banister and vaulted down as casually as though she did it everyday.

* * *

Xenia grinned as she spotted Reisa again, she was thinking, obviously very hard, since she had her chin balanced on one hand which in turn had its elbow sitting on the armrest of one of the hard fragile-looking chairs. Her fine eyebrows knitted, while her eyes refused to properly focuse as they shifted languigly every once in a while, to properly study the place with a slow thinking ease. 

The left side of her cloak had slipped, part of it covering out her soaked shirt, which, Xenia noted, was starting to cling, all the while watched by the elder of the two brothers.Of course, it did not help that the orange light set on her made her look very... _unusual_, unlike her usual self, since it gave her a soft look, in contrast to the very serious look on her face.

'Almost pretty,' was the ony way Xenia put it to be simple, since she does not make it much of a habit to call people 'pretty'.Xenia erased the grin off her face as she went on walking, holding out the notebook to Reisa, along with the pencil,"等下有话跟你说...(2)" she said in chinese, eyes darting to the twins both of which were uncomfortable and unsure what to do...except for maybe Hao who was restraining his lower jaw from falling open.

"我也是,(3)" she replied back in chinese, taking the stationery in both hands before flipping to the first page of unwritten-on paper, and twirled the pencil easily in her hands,"Oh, and please Xenia, attend to the guests while I work this out...Well, just for the moment, please?"

Xenia stuck out her tongue,"you're boring, but okay," Xenia spun around on her heel immediately after that, her waist-length plait swinging around merrily almost like a whip, its purple ribbon narrowly missing Reisa's face.When it was just an inch away from her face, the european had withdrawn herself, leaning back with practised speed and smacked the plait away.

"Keep your hair to yourself!" she snapped as she brushed her own long brown hair back, their long wavy length almost the colour of the twins' own hair but only because it was wet, spoiling the overall snappishness of the european girl by dripping drops of water on her already soaked clothing incessantly, and dampening her cloak as well.

Xenia only grinned in reply, before she turned back to the two twins, "So, I'm so so sorry we did not take good care of you, my guests," she said in a very formal voice, bowing stiffly before she straightened, her overall seriousness ruined by the mischeif shining in her golden eyes,"maybe you'de like to come raid the kitchen with me since I don't know where eeeeev'rrrrything is kept?"

Reisa shook her head violently from behind her, before she moved her hand to draw something like a cross on her paper.Xenia, without even turning back, punched Reisa in the head, but her fist was only deflected by Reisa'sother hand which came up to meet her fist seemingly as easily as batting away a fly.Without looking back, Xenia withdrew her hand, and rested it on one hip.

Yoh blinked once at the peculiarity of the two members of the opposite sex, then grinned,"Raiding sounds good, aniki won't have any objections eh?"

"Actually, yes.I do not like crumbs on my shirt," _especially when Anna would probably be at home_, Hao added very silently in his mind.Yoh seemed to have forgotten that part though.

"Great," Xenia smiled as she rolled up her long purple and light blue sleeves,"Let's go do raid-"

A sound of tinkling bells suddenly rung through the air, cutting off and drowning out Xenia's words.

"You go do the raiding, I'll open the door," Reisa set down her pencil and paper, but her words had barely gone out of her mouth when Xenia had dived into the kitchen and the sound of loud clashing cutlery and utensils were heard, but Yoh was still sitting down, obviously not knowing the fact that Xenia's sprint was a cue for him to follow.Not like Xenia missed him anyway.With a disgruntled shake of her head, Reisa got up to open the door stood up to get the door.

...Which opened by itself.

"Ah, you must be Cerium eh young lady?" Standing outside was a prim lady, she looked about 28 years of age, with a very kindly and nice-looking face which seemed to radiate gentleness and care.Immaculate long blonde hair combed back into a neat bun at back, slightly taller than Reisa, a fair complexion and calm purple eyes to complete her appearance.She looked vaguely similiar to Reisa, in terms of their both european features.

Reisa however, did not return the smile,"Actually, it's improper to address me by my middle name," she took a long look at the lady's apparel,"Governess Theatril was it?"

The lady's expression immediately became serious, her dark purple eyes stony as she regarded her,"I see you were informed," and she glanced down at her own very unusual reinassance gown. With her own name etched in gold thread along the left side of the stiff green bodice, on the left side of her chest, before her gaze snapped right back at Reisa, taking in the wet shirt, the skirt and the cloak,"You do know your attire is unacceptable, and absolutely repulsive?"

Reisa regarded her for a long moment, "come in, Lady Theatril, and I presume you know of Xenia?"

"Like your name, the periodic table works my memory, aye, Xenon, I know."

"You're not much smarter than the last Governess I had, you probably won't last long, as _always_." Reisa said in a very stinging sort of tone, as Xenia came out of the kitchen, with crumbs on her jeans and purple shirt-like top, munching on a slice of what looked like apple pie.

"First thing first," Theatril said primly, inclining her neck stiffly, "you _will_ change out of that ridiculous clothing, and into one of the gowns in the closet, secondly, you _will_ treat your guests with the proper manner as is expected of a lady.You have ten minutes.GO!"

In the background, Yoh and Hao stared at each other, confusion written all over their faces as Xenia dived into the kitchen for cover and Reisa positively flew up the stairs, apparently very familiar with the ways of a governess.

"The Third room to the left, girl!" yelled the blonde-lady, as her purple eyes watched as Xenia emerged from the kitchen once more -a proud survivor of a Governess's wrath - even from her distance the meaning in her gaze could not have been more clear and Xenia could interprete it within a second:

_Repulsive attire.You are a bad influence to the Heir of our family._

Xenia shrugged as she chewed on the pastry, she was too used to Reisa's family to care.Sniffing in a very prim way, Theatril turned her head away and ignored them all.

* * *

When the more mature 15-year-old came back down, her arrival was heralded by something that sounded clearly like the rustling of stiff silk.Of all the four people watching, only Xenia and the Governess kept their faces impassive, the other two, Yoh and Hao's jaws both fell open immediately.Not with awe, but rather with disbelief and shock. 

She looked decidedly awkward, but her european look blended perfectly with the current attire she had donned.Pale blue and white with gold trim, it was pure renaissance wear, which should be out-dated and in a museum or something.It looked way too regal for normal everyday wear, but next to them, the Governess shook her head, and immediately marched up to the girl, who blinked and took a tentative step back, her ankle-length flared skirt rustling like leaves as she retreated, careful not to step on her dress's hem.

"No peasant's dresses girl.I'll dress you up," she said stiffly and set off past her, taking Reisa's wrist by the way and yanked her up the stairs, making her stumble every once in a while as she tripped on her ery impractical skirt.

"Peasant's dress? That looked grand enough for a banquet," Xenia stated matter of factly as she crossed her arms,"but then again, you should've know better than to wear something simple!" she yelled up at the very dejected-looking 15-year-old as she was dragged around the cornerupstairs on the landing

Once again, Yoh and Hao looked at each other, neither comprehending the situation.

This was a very very weird day, any weirder and they're all go running back to the Funbari...

Speaking of which...

"Anna's going to kill me!" groaned both twins stimultaneously as they finally caught sight of the clock.Xenia however shrugged as she checked her watch... then the clock, her watch again, clock...watch, clock, watch, clock, watch...

Finally, "That is probably Havard Standard Time," she muttered as she went up to it and tuned it to the correct time, from the 8pm to the precise 2pm.As both twins sighed with relief, Xenia turned,"Tea, juice or coffee? Anyone? We're limited in the juice supply though, I think there's only the disgusting grape juice and ..." she scrunched up her face in thought,"orange."

On cue, Hao flattened his hands over his ears as Yoh immmediately sat up in his seat and yelled.

"ORANGE JUICE!

* * *

This took long enough to complete.

(1) One of the myths in the story of Xephyrus (notice the spelling differences?) who is portrayed with the God of music (Apollo) and Hyacinth, the Greek's love-triangle.I apolegise if I have any of the facts wrong.Although I portray him differently in comparison to the original depictions.

(2) Basically, Xenia is saying: "I have something to tell you later."

(3) Reisa is saying: "Me too," Not much to elaborate on really.

And so finally...

Please review and comment!

Ja, minna-san! -Riviea


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for ditching you guys for so long.I really meant to post this up by the start of February, but I really did not expect February to be hetic to that extent and that my computer would crash and that I would have to rewrite this chapter from scratch... 

Gomen ne!

Okay people, in response to the queries about why and how I could've just deleted Autumn Records, I have to say that I am very very sorry.I never realised AR was that popular seeing as it was just a by product of my over-active imagination, and in the later chapters, of the roleplay between Tsukiria and I.

In other words, it was done on a _whim_, and was not meant to be a real fic, more like a collection of loosely related drabbles so to speak.I admit that I was displeased with the story which was misleading and scattered with ideas, not my type of writing.So, I deleted it.Only to get asked why I did as I did.

Again, Summimasen, I really had no idea.

Okay, now, let's get back to what I was saying...

* * *

Only a minute later, Yoh was drinking from a giant sized mug, which was full to the brim with - you guessed it - orange juice.Why Xenia had given him such a large cup for him to drown him and his joy in however, was unknown. 

Xenia however, stood in a corner, staring , arms crossed, and expression serious, albeit the few neglegible pastry crumbs on her shirt that was ruining the serious and un-naturally tense atmosphere.

_So she can be serious afterall, that'sjust awesome, she was just starting to tick me off._

_What's with the silence down there?_

Hao, on the other hand was doing nothing in particular as well (though he might be listening in on other's thoughts like the rude lad he is...you didn't read this), just sitting there with one leg crossed over the other while he lounged back, hair spread out over the back-rest, and that, was what Xenia was staring at.

Or at least, _seemed_ to be staring at.

Can you even stare at something when your eyes are unfocused with thought?

Nobody spoke, and even Xenia was strangely quiet, head tilted down so that her long forelocks shadowed the front of her face.There was no hint of that bubbly nature in the girl.

A slurping sip was contributed from Yoh as he doused his tongue in the richly vitamined drink before letting out a long sigh of contentment as he rested the cup on his lap, fingers tightly curled around the handle.

No response, Hao's eyebrow twitched.

Another long gurgle, this one louder still, but with a more uneasy feel to it as Xenia's golden eyes, blank with thought, looked up and fixed Yoh with an un-nerving gaze, as though she'de just noticed him and was finalising her first impression.

There was a even longer silence, and Yoh gulped as the same pair of eyes focused, and she walked over, slamming both hands on the glass-topped coffee table,looking very annoyed, and then-

"Damn it, can someone just SAY something?!"

* * *

"What?" her blue eyes widened,"She died here...? But, they said she-" 

"-was killed in Korea?" Theatril cut in smoothly,"No, she somehow survived that and managed to make it to this place...I take it you know what happened next?"

"Yukita took over.Why her, that friggin' _idiot_, why can't they let me go, I can do better than her! Will it kill them to let their own daughter take on a miss-" Reisa pulled a very nasty face, spitting out the name like it was a poisonous curse, before her features smoothed out as Theatril gave her a very reproachful stare.

The governess smoothed out her already-immaculate hair and tidied out her sleeves, adjusting the shoulders of her shirt, taking her own sweet time to be excate, before she directed her full attention at Reisa,"Sibling rivalry is common, as is fierce competition.But Hatred among the accpeted members of the family is not allowed.Do not let me catch you using that tone again."

"Sibling Rivalry...hmph.We're not even of the same blood," grumbled the younger of the two females,"she's just a high-ranking servant-"

"Who is of your status," said the elder, briskly dusting off her hands,"I think that Lady..Xenia's mother has informed you of the vengeful spirit still hovering around here ready to get back at the Verdicts?"

"So THAT's why the shower attacked me!"

"Whatever you are trying to express, I can promise you that it's about to get worse."

"Does that mean that...erm...my...underwear or something will start flying out of the window next?"

"That is **_pathetic_** and childish, Reisa."

"I know I know! Don't be such a kill-joy-" and with her sentence unfinished, the european pulled off her current dress and dragged on a dress that suited the current century better.

Red with black ribbons.All Theatril could do was to show her reproachfulness by keeping quiet as Reisa banged the door and pattered downstairs.

In _bare_ feet.

"...Darn that rebellious streak in all children."

* * *

"..." 

"Is it a bit too much to ask why there's silence in here?" Reisa frowned.

"...no... Suppose not," Xenia said brusquely, in a tone that clearly stated the word 'boredom' in full capitals.

"Why is it so quiet in here?"

Reisa quirked an eyebrow, "When does school re-open again?"

"April 6th," Yoh offered, without a trace of sadness in his voice despite how close the date was,"I can't wait."

_Can't wait?_

Xenia's eyebrow twitched as she looked a the more mature twin, expecting a more humane answer.Hao only shrugged in mild neutrality.Reisa smiled softly, face lighting up,"School must be fun then," she said cheerfully as she picked up one stray copper-brown lock and twirled it boredly.

Xenia stuck out her tongue, in cheekily mock disgust,"Back home in Taiwan, school starts in September."

Reisa tilted her head in agreement,"So it has been for six years, just like my old school in Creteil, it too began in September, though the school time is not unified and vary from each state."

There was a creak of doors upstairs, and the brisk steady footsteps of someone coming down the stairs echoed, Reisa raked back her hair with her fingers, and sighed.

Chow time.

Xenia blinked for a moment, then suddenly announced,"Time to go now, can I walk you two home," she barely hesitated,"please."

"Well... " there was a really long pause as the footsteps grew louder and closer,"We still have an errand to finish.."

Xenia leapt up, and grabbed both brothers' wrists as quickly as she could, and with almost inhumane force pulled them upright, and was soon dragging then as quickly as she could manage out of the door.Behind them, Reisa crossed her arms and dissapeared through a random door and out of sight.

* * *

"Right," Xenia said, doing her best to slow her breathing from all the exertion from dragging two well-built 15-year-old boys,"Where are we going next?" 

"... Finish off our final 80 laps, complete 50 push-ups...and get the groceries," Hao said helpfully as Yoh - with the mug still in his hand quickly emptied it of its orange contents and set it on the nearest ever surface he could find.

Xenia winced,"Okaay," she sighed, and flattened her fringe nervously,"I supposed I could manage that."

"MANAGE?" Hao laughed, mockingly,"You, a mere mortal manage! You'll probably collapse before the first of the remaining 80 laps has been completed!"

Xenia flared,"I'm not a _mere_ mortal!"

"Are to!"

"_Am not_!"

"Are _to_!"

"Am not, not, not, _not_! Idiot," Xenia yelled back at him, cross and very much annoyed.

Yoh, who had been watching both of them like a tennis rally (i.e. turning his head to look at the current person who was talking) sweat-dropped, holding out two placating hands,"Guys..."

Did I need to say that he was ignored?

The next thing Hao knew, other then the sense of satisfaction he had from annoying the asian girl, Xenia's face was inches away, and her eyes showed that she was feeling very very slighted and did not like that.

"Fine, I _challenge_ you, whoever finishes first wins."

From somewhere to their left, Yoh sighed as a sweatdrop slid down his face.

Seriously...

* * *

Yoh only watched on without the least interest as both of them rushed through their schedule with competitive speed.By the time both were done, sweat was dripping off their bodies as though they had been doused with water.Xenia's braid was coming out of its hair-tye and Hao's hair was plastered against his neck. 

Both were drenched, but neither was panting, only breathing hard.

"Who won?"

"I of course, you're just a pathetic excuse of a mortal girl," Hao said sweetly, and Xenia's whole form stiffened with the insult.

She turned over and glared at Hao, who noted that her eyes were of two different colours and told her so. Mockingly.She looked irritated, very much so."Crap, I knew it was a bad idea," she said, glaring at Hao as if it was his fault she now had bi-coloured eyes.Needless to say, Hao glared back, with even more ferocity.

And so, Xenia ignored him, reaching up to the golden eye, she gently touched the iris, and then removed her hand from there.And there she was, back to normal, with two grey eyes, with the gold contact balanced on her finger.Throwing it carelessly behind her, she spun to Yoh who had jammed half-way through his training - he was still 2 short of his push-ups - and was watching both of them quarrel, and snapped,"You were watching, who won?"

Hao snorted and folded his arms in a very stuck-up manner, just to annoy her.Xenia growled and leapt at him, shoving him down to the ground and pummeled him, catching him unawares.

"You-You-You... _MONSTER_!!" Xenia cried, violently shaking him by the neck.

"Me?! Monster?! What about you.. you.. violent... **animal**!" he coughed back, fighting the strangling hold.

"_ANIMAL_?! I'll show you animal!" she yelled back at him and tightened her hold, pummelling the flailing Hao with every bit of her strength while Yoh sweatdropped and finished his training hurriedly and stood by in case either of them killed the other, not trusting himself to be of help.

"Yoh-dono?" Amidamaru asked a little uneasily as the squabble threatened to turn bloody.

"Sshhh..!"

Hao getting murdered by a mortal girl...

...Wow?

* * *

Don't worry, the second ...erm...stanza? well, whatever, stanza of this chapter is meant to be like that, it'll clear up in the next few chapters.

Ja, minna-san.

Review please! I'm itching to hear your replies and there's no anti-itch cream for this kind of itching.


End file.
